Stone released his mother from their hug, knowing that she wasn’t ready to leave, but for his sanity, and Mae’s, she needed to. “I’ve got Mae to keep me in line, so please don’t worry. Thank you for being here, but Rhett is going to kill me himself if you don’t get in the car.”
“He’s telling the truth, Ma.” Stone’s brother opened the passenger door for their mother. “We know he’s okay. He’ll keep being okay. So we need to let him get back to his life here.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t lease a little place here for a few months? Rhett can drive back and I can just be here. What if you have a setback? Need more help managing things?”
“Then I’ll lean on my family here.”
His mother smiled as she patted his arm. “Okay. I get it. Mom is smothering, friends are better.”
Stone sighed. “Not better, Mom. I’ll always be thankful you were there when I woke up.”
Before he could lean in for another hug, Stone’s mother had him wrapped in her arms. “My sweet boy. All those daysand nights spent worried sick over you when you were in the service, and nothing happened. I haven’t had to have an anxious ache in my body since you got out. But that phone call.” She sighed, pulling away from him just far enough that he could see the sparkle of tears in her eyes. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
“I have no plans to, Mom. I promise.”
“Good.” His mom turned to Mae, pulling her into an embrace. “And you, sweetheart. You are the best! Thank you for loving my son and helping him get better. I know I’m leaving him in the best hands.”
“Thank you, Cheryl. I hope you both have a safe trip home.”
They stood, watching and waving until the car was around the corner. Then, Stone wrapped his hand around Mae’s and tugged her along behind him all the way to the elevator.
“Thank God. I didn’t think we were ever going to get them to leave.” Mae’s eyes went wide as Stone pressed her against the wall, his mouth slowly lowering to line up with hers.
“Why the rush to get rid of them?”
He pulled back, his eyes laser focused on hers. “I think you know why. I might still be healing, but that doesn’t mean my appetite for you has completely gone away. I’m starving, Michaela. Don’t deny me this.”
“Well we certainly can’t do anything in the lobby.”
“God, I wish I could run up the stairs.”
“Don’t even think about it,” she scolded.
The seconds ticked by slower than molasses as they got into the elevator, took it up to the apartment and tried their hardest not to make any noise in the hallway. Finally, they were back inside, and Stone kicked the door shut, locking the damn thing for good measure.
“Your doctors told us not to push it with physical exertion,” Mae said as she walked towards the living room.
“I don’t think you sitting on my face is going to be all that physically taxing for me. In fact, I’d count that as rest and relaxation time, wouldn’t you?”
“I am not doing that!”
Stone’s fingers curled around Mae’s wrist as he pulled her towards the sofa. Stubborn woman. She’d barely kissed him since he’d been home. There was no way he was letting that go on any longer. Mae wasn’t his home nurse, although the thought of her in a sexy little outfit, checking on his injuries, had blood rushing to his already rock hard… situation.
He turned, sitting on the cushion while gripping her hips, pulling Mae down onto his lap at the same time he landed in the seat. A small pull at the injury in his belly had him wincing, which, as terrible luck would have it, Mae saw. She immediately pulled away, but his hands were faster.
“Quit wiggling on my lap unless you want this to all end faster and a lot more embarrassing than I’m prepared for.”
“You’ll hurt yourself doing that! Let me up so I can check on your wounds.”
“They’re fine,” he growled. “You heard what Jake said this morning. I’m healing better than anyone thought,he’s so impressed by me, I’m a miracle… and you know what I heard from that? I canfinallysatisfy my woman again. Now that? That’s just what the doctor ordered. So you better just stay right where you are.”
“It’s my job to make sure you don’t hurt yourself and mess up your recovery.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?” Ah, there was the spitfire he loved. Watching her get riled up was like watching the sunlight stream down on a wide open field after a summer thunderstorm. There was something about the way her face lit up—bright, brilliant pink dusting across the apples of her cheeks— that just pulled his chest tight. Not in a bad or painful way. In a way that screamed he was meant to spend the rest of his life chasing that color.
“You heard me. No. You are not a nurse. You are not my caregiver. You are my girlfriend. The woman I love. The woman who I make love to. I’m not going to lose you to this, Mae. To thechoreof taking care of me. I don’t want you to see me like that.”
